Commenting: Common Sense and Respect

Visiting blogs in your niche is how a blogger becomes part of the blogging community. If you’ve read a post, leaving a comment is both good blogging and a relationship-building act. Comments are your calling card. They are the same as leaving a card on a business call or leaving a note at the house of a friend.

Here are some thoughts to consider when commenting.

• Does the writer want comments? Rare is the blogger who doesn’t. Some don’t. Some have removed the comment box from their blogs. Some bloggers want comments, but have chosen a design that makes the comment box hard to find. Look near the title of the post, before you decide there isn’t one.
• What do I write? If the post inspired you or made you think of a response — a memory, a question, an argument, or a reason you agree — say so. If not, try “thank you.” That always works.
• Can I leave a link? Realize that you are on a space that someone has spent time putting together, a place where a community has formed. Look around to see what others are doing. Take your cue from what you see..
• Are trackbacks okay? Trackbacks are often good, particularly on business blogs where they are used to connect articles of relevant content. Try not to use them as your only form of communication. That might appear as if you are “too busy to be bothered” with actually visiting.

Commenting is relationship building through the words we write in that little box. It’s not hard to do it well, if we never forget that people read what we write. Commenting really is about treating bloggers as people who work hard at what they do. That’s true in all relationships. Good commenting is guided by common sense and respect.

Liz